Swamplands

[JennyDK]

The swamplands are not very frequented by most as they hold many possible dangers such as the animals, bottomless holes, poisonous plants and so on.
Despite this, it is still also the home of intelligent creatures.

[LeSane]

Ekōh was not too fond of the swamplands in this area. The brutish Goliath's heightened sense of smell made the already foul smell of this place more unbearable than it already was; that large muscular body he found confidence in did little now that he was ankle-deep in the murky water.

'Why am I doing this again?' Asking himself such a fundamental question only to recall that he'd been tracking some creature the village folk has trouble with over the last few weeks. The trail had been easy at first as grasslands and wilderness, but this— this was misery that he would not wish on anyone.  If he had to keep going Ekōh felt that the sun would set, and he'd be forced to stay overnight in an attempt to locate this beast.

What made this worse was that he couldn't bring his great-axe with him, not as it would only slow him down further or worse be stuck within the gunk and swallowed up in this place.

[JennyDK]

The Swamplands is a sudden and heavy change in scenery, flora and fauna in many ways and for those not accustomed it will likely be lost easily if they are not careful. There are no established trails or anything of the sort, so the place can be potentially very dangerous in a variety of ways and not all of them only due to the creatures living here. The many sounds, smells and sights is sure to cause new people here to find it very same-y. Yet not all may be bad for him. As he dares enter the place, there are still some tracks to follow, but at some point, even he is very lost.

The signs of the creature he was tracking are fully gone.

Then, in the midst of it all, he hears a soft humming, almost like singing.

[LeSane]

With no visible tracks due to the slurry of water, mud, and filth it felt kind of hopeless doing this the conventual way. A low growl came from Ekōh's throat as his frustration began to bubble to the surface; that is until his keen sense of hearing heard the faintest sound different from the constant croaking of toads, and buzzing of insects. 'What in the world is that?' confused as to who or what was making that noise. None of the villagers said anyone was dwelling in this accursed swamp so his guard was up.

The brutish man kept in a low crouch which did little to hide his gigantic frame, yet it was instinct that came from decades of hunting for his survival. Bobbing and weaving through the sparse trees as he grew closer to the source of the noise.

[JennyDK]

"Nishka smelled large man long ago, dear...even the spirits told Nishka of someone new in here. What does man thing here in the swamp all alone? It is dangerous here if one does not know what to expect or find ones way around. Can Nishka help stranger?", a small ratfolk female says whilst she is busy combing her way through various bushes, plants and other sorts of vegetation as she collects ingredients.

[LeSane]

His eyes magnified and the large brute was about to let his instincts guide his actions from that moment onward. That is until they spoke out towards him causing Ekōh to take pause. This was not the first time he'd run into one of her kind before though they'd been nomadic trading with those they came across. When she said she had smelt him long ago he grunted of disapproval; his face showing that he was not too keen that his heightened sense of smell had failed him.

"Lookin' for monster. Trail lost in the swamp." His tone was harsh but not towards her in any way. The Goliath just hadn't expected to get much help, but if she could traverse the wetlands and aid him in his prey then the more the merrier. "Ekōh accepts your help tiny one." he stood up and towered over Nishka. The seventh fang was a huge, muscular man with tan skin, glowing yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and wild black hair.

He  wore silver fur pelts, a ragged skirt with a thick silver fur waistline, and gold-trimmed white armor on his right shoulder and over his groin area. "Why you here? Don't seem like you live in a place like this." curious as to why she was trying to get items from this place.

[JennyDK]

The woman looks lost in thought for a second or two, with her eyes looking upwards to further give off this impression."Hmmmmm....Nishka not sure what 'monster' means, but Nishka thinks that Ekóh speaks of big weird creature. Nishka has never seen this sort of animal before. It was like a big, big bird...and not really. Nishka can help track it....and Nishka lives here along with most of our kind", she answers him in return and puts the last stuff she picked into a pouch for various ingredients. The female ratfolk adorns simple and light leather clothing and with many fetishes and talisman adorning it several places.

[LeSane]

Ekōh folded his arms as she spoke of this weird creature that he'd never heard of before; A big bird though wasn't the most helpful of descriptions, but he couldn't be upset as that was more than even he had known about the beast, to begin with. Whenever he returned to that village he was going to have words with the one who employed him for this quest.

"Big bird. They do not tell it was bird-like; make tracking even harder." his attention went back to Nishka in confusion. There were more of her people in this swamp? More than likely they had adapted to this environment just like his own people were hardened by the higher altitudes and cold climate.

 "Let us head to your people. The bird creature might be heading that way," he said only guessing, but if it was in this swamp it came for a reason.

[JennyDK]

The ratfolk woman gives him a brief confused look as he mentions it being a bird."No no, not bird...like a bird, but not a bird. It may have gotten scared off somehow. Niskha not seen anything like that before. Too big to fly for sure. Nishka do not live with one of the tribes, but if Nishka and Ekóh hurry, be sure to catch creature, yes yes. Just follow Nishka and be wary of surroundings", she says and begins to quickly move, assuming he will follow her lead. Despite how dense, muddy and overgrown things are here, Nishka moves like it was the most natural of paths.

[LeSane]

There was visible confusion on Ekōh's face as she said it kinda was a bird, but not a bird. What was it then? She made no sense to the uncivilized goliath. "Yes, we find the beast. No capture only kill!" he said grinning from ear to ear as this was what he understood letting his savagery shine through at the worst of times. As she moved he was quick to follow her lead stepping in the spots she had which made his traversal all the easier. There was no way he could get lost now. He had caught the scent of Nishka and even if she got too far forward he could track her down clearly as it was fresh.

Edited February 15, 2022 by LeSane

[JennyDK]

Nishka is still able to hear him from behind, despite her expert level of trekking the dense plant life that makes for almost proper and wall-like obstacles. The deeper the pair go into the swamps, the further alien, weird and eerie the place gets. It is almost as if it a world entirely disconnected from the rest of the world. There are odd and otherworldly sensations in the air, that most outsiders would find concerning, even frightening for the weakest willed minds and psyches. For Ekóh there is sounds that almost sounds like soft and distant whispers."Big creature not be far from here, Nishka can sense. The spirits are telling Nishka how to find this beast", she speaks calmly like this is all perfectly normal.

[LeSane]

Their traversal of the swamp had Ekōh on edge the further they went in. The flora seemed to be twisted into something unfamiliar. 'Where they even in the same place?' questioning as it didn't seem likely things could change so quickly. The insects and birds were further away as if they were avoiding this part of the swamp.

He would not admit to it, but he was slightly on edge. Instincts demanded that he turn around and forget about whatever monster they needed to deal with. Ekōh would fight against that feeling and push forward. When she said the creature was close, he said nothing but nodded. All he could do was mentally steel himself and get ready.

[JennyDK]

Nishka looks very much unaffected by the eerie and foreboding atmosphere and surroundings. In fact, she seems even more at home somehow."Niskha knows this place really well...Nishka moved here from village. Many more spirits for Nishka to speak to. Keep close to Nishka or Ekóh might be in danger", she tells him softly, keeping her voice low and discreet. The deeper the two of them get the more these unsettling sensations get. It is almost as if nature itself is watching the two of them. The man might be hallucinating a bit, unless things here are just kind of unnatural in a way. After about 10 minutes more of trekking, the ratfolk finally gives signal to stop and hide. Once hidden behind thick vegetation, she will point towards something ahead of them....

He seems a much smaller version of a weird looking creature

[LeSane]

Ekōh followed without a word until stopping when the ratfolk gave him a sign before pointing out the monster they'd been tracking. It looked fearsome for the Goliath though he did not seem afraid anymore as it was just his nerves. Now that his prey stood before him, he smiled, revealing jagged teeth, eyes narrowing as his blood lust reared its ugly head.

As he breathed out slow at first, there was chanting. "Kar En Tuk..." Ekōh said as he kept this chant going, the words would more than likely attract the monster's attention, but he wasn't hiding instead walking casually towards it, his chant still going.

"Kar En Tuk... Tei Slaven Ben... Kar En Tuk... Du Tei Exunt." His chanting got louder as it wasn't some prayer, but a war cries repeating it until the silence died. His voice grew distorted, body changing becoming more beastly as the already large man grew in stature, becoming a lycan.

[JennyDK]

Nishka is a bit surprised by the man suddenly chanting stuff and transforming like this around her, but she figures it is only meant for combat and it does seem like the better option, especially when you consider that she is by no means a regular combatant either. Having someone basically take on the aggression of the enemy and to keep it in check, allows her time and opportunity to do what she is able to. This creature certainly would cause a lot of trouble here, so even she is interested in getting rid of it, though she would likely have used other methods were she to do this herself.

As Ekóh does his thing, she inhales deeply and begin to gather some fur and other stuff this beast has shed onto the ground. She doesn't need much, just a few items to put onto a primitive looking doll of hers. Then chanting something very alien as well, but seems too busy and focused to keep notice of what is happening before her.

Of course, the two emerging figures causes the manticore to notice and soon enough grow very aggressive. Whilst not overly intelligent, it does perceive who the biggest threat is of the two and start to leap towards the transformed person, ready to swipe at him with a mighty claw. The beast lunges itself and Ekóh is soon to have a huge paw hit him if he is not careful.

[LeSane]

Ekōh's fears melted away as he transformed into his lycanthrope form. He should have been scared as this was the first time he'd encountered a beast like this, yet he was not. Instead, his excitement only grew as he continued to give his war chant, though for now, it was in the common tongue, his voice guttural and more savage than before. "Rip and tear their bones and blood! Rip and tear fight to the death!" Before letting out a loud howl that traveled for what felt like miles, the birds flew up, disturbed.

As it came at him, the werewolf's glowing red eyes watched as its claw came barreling down at him. Ekōh sidestepped out the way bearing his claws, trying to aim at its joints rather than a lethal attack. It would be easier to make it unable to fight back then deal a fatal blue than some battle of attrition. 

[JennyDK]

The large claw barely misses the werewolf form of the man, grazing along his side and making minor cuts, but not something deadly or to worry about. The manticore is packing a lot of weight, despite its body not being much bigger than his own. Whilst still big, it is surprisingly agile and as he tries to strike for a weak point the manticore manages to also get out of the way, but not enough to not get hurt and it gets lightly injured on one of its hind legs, causing some bleeding and an angry growl from it. Being agitated like that, it then tries to strike at him with its poisonous stinger.

With even a few blood splatters from the ground to use, the ratfolk voodoo doctor is better able to finish and make her doll useful. So once she is fully done and her incantation is over with, Ekóh is able to suddenly see how the stinger of the beast gets twisted in an angle that looks VERY uncomfortable and the beast shrieking in heavy pain, the stinger mere centimeters from his face.

[LeSane]

The pain of claws cutting through his fur and flesh was drowned out by the adrenaline coursing through his veins. It had gotten him, but Ekōh had managed to strike the manticore too. He'd forgotten that his companion had stood behind him doing her voodoo magic until he saw the stinger of the beast twist and contort in such a grotesque manner. His eyes trained on the monster's tail before grabbing it with both of his claws, sinking them into one of the segments of its scorpion-like tail, and pulling with his immense strength to tear it off and ridding the beast of one of its many means of fighting back.

[JennyDK]

The giant bodied beast continues to growl in a mixture of pain and anger as the tip of the tail comes loose. With the transformed man grabbing for its stinger, it is able to make a swift and hard bite back though, its jaws jabbing into the shoulder of the wolfman. However, as Ekóh wanted, he managed to claim the still impressively sized tip from its tail. With the two of them heavily involved with each other like this, it leaves Nishka completely free to do as she pleases and she can tell that the big wolfman seems to have his work cut out for him. In a flash, one of the eyes of the manticore suddenly explodes into a small cloud of blood and pulp, the beast losing an eyeball right away, but while it roars in hurt there is still fighting spirit left in it as it now fights for survival.

[LeSane]

There was a mix of emotions that went on in a few seconds. He felt joy as he felt the stinger come loose, as he knew exactly what to do next, the feeling of intense pain as the monster's teeth sank into him. Ekōh roared out, struggling to free himself from its clenched jaw. With his free arm, he took the stinger and plunged the pointed tip into the manticore's neck. Pushing the barbed tip deep along it's neck. At the same time, he was taken back when his eye burst and blood covered his face.

[JennyDK]

The fight seems to finally escalate fully here as the two large bodies beings go at each other. The manticore does not let go of his shoulder as it is making noticeable damage and hurt to Ekóh. The sharp teeth digging into his flesh, but thankfully it is a spot free of vital organs and thus will be able to get fixed. Plenty of blood to make things hard to see properly, especially when the eyeball bursts open like that. The manticore does not even flinch as the stinger hits its neck, but it is clearly causing considerable damage there as well and before Ekóh might pass out or something similarly bad, the stinger causes the beast to bleed out faster. So once it passes out, it lets go of his body and falls heavily onto the mossy ground below.

Once the combat seems over, the doll Nishka was using evaporates into thin air, like fog. She then rushes over to Ekóh to assess his injuries."Do not worry lizardman Ekóh. Niskha know how to fix wounds", she tells him.

[LeSane]

There had been so much blood pouring from him that if he'd been an average person, the manticore would have killed Ekōh three times over from just the tiniest of scratches. As the sound of both the beast and the Goliath's blood sloshed onto the water, mingling with the muck of the swamp. As its jaws unclenched from the werewolf, he breathed a sigh as the battle ended once the bloody and beaten monster hit the ground; he fell back, reverting to his human form. The pain was now the only thing in his mind that the adrenaline was long gone.

He groaned silently, hearing the small ratkin coming from where she had been assisting him from. "Worry? Warriors, do not worry." He said though it was clear from his tone he lying through his teeth.

[JennyDK]

The ratfolk voodoo doctor is quick to notice the loss of blood and the man's odd lie about it."Nishka does not know why Ekóh tries to deceive about the injury. It is unwise to not consider the health and the dangers of injuries, especially out here", she says and extracts some primitive sort of bandages made from plants and such found in the swamps, which she begins to apply on him. Surprisingly, the correct combination of herbs, oils and the like causes no negative sensations to the man, but rather a colder, soothing one instead.

[LeSane]

When she approached him with her homemade bandage, Ekōh flinched for a second, thinking she would do something like she had with the manticore. "My people do not ask for help. We suffer pain with pride." He said, gritting his teeth as she applied the bandage on his wound. It didn't hurt, but the sensation wasn't one he was familiar with as it was soothing. Usually, he would close the wound and use fire to sear it shit—they would reopen if he moved too much too quickly. The large man kept his eyes trained on the beast. Even if it was dead, he didn't want it to on some odd chance to get back up. "Thank you." Saying this softly as he didn't want to be thought of as weak.

[JennyDK]

"Ekóh's kind suffer with idiocy then. There could be poison in the bite as well and simply allowing a wound to stay open and bleeding is invited the Spirits to take you to the Afterlife....also Nishka is only happy to help out. Just let Nishka look at it every now and then and Ekóh will be okay", she responds back, wondering if this sort of pride has gotten him into trouble many times before. She does the last few things needed to close and clean the wound so he may get better much faster and easier than what other methods, if any, he uses."This makes the task here done, yes?", she asks him.